# 2024 NBA playoffs
The 2024 [NBA playoffs](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-playoffs) was the [National Basketball Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-basketball-association)'s postseason tournament for the 2023-24 season, a four-round, best-of-seven bracket of 16 teams that ended with the [Boston Celtics](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-celtics) defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's 18th championship[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule). The playoffs were presented by Google Pixel, and the Finals by YouTube TV, with ABC as the exclusive Finals broadcaster[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule). Boston's title, its first since 2008, broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers (17 championships) for the most in league history[2](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-game-5-championship-2024-nba-finals) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/06/18/nba-champions-once-again-the-boston-celtics-celebrate-number-18_6675041_9.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Champion | Boston Celtics, 18th NBA title, first since 2008; beat Dallas 4-1 in the Finals[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule) • [2](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-game-5-championship-2024-nba-finals) |
| Celtics playoff record | 16-3, the second-best winning percentage since the four-round best-of-seven format was adopted in 2003[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kW6N2Ax9XA) |
| Finals MVP | Jaylen Brown[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/06/18/nba-champions-once-again-the-boston-celtics-celebrate-number-18_6675041_9.html) |
| Closing game | Game 5, June 17, 2024: Celtics 106, Mavericks 88; Jayson Tatum 31 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds[2](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-game-5-championship-2024-nba-finals) |
| Runner-up's run | Dallas reached its first Finals since 2011, beating the Clippers, Thunder, and Timberwolves[5](https://www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-25-Dallas-Mavericks-Media-Guide-2.pdf) • [1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule) |
| Biggest Finals blowout | Game 4: Mavericks 122, Celtics 84, a 38-point margin, the third-largest in Finals history[6](https://apnews.com/article/06892b340967ef05fafb6d5c0ac6a9d1) |
| Regular-season context | Boston went 64-18, the fifth-best record in franchise history, and entered as the league's top overall seed[7](https://apnews.com/article/b7d75dc92ca84987ba15fe89814e416b) |
## Format and qualification
The bracket followed the modern structure in place since 2003: four rounds, all best-of-seven, with the team holding the better regular-season record receiving home-court advantage in each round[8](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612760/2025/10/Thunder-Media-Guide-2025-26_WEB.pdf). Sixteen teams qualified, eight per conference, seeded 1 through 8. A Play-In Tournament held April 16-19 settled the final four spots: in the East, Philadelphia beat Miami for the No. 7 seed and Miami then took the No. 8 seed by beating Chicago; in the West, the Lakers beat New Orleans for No. 7 and New Orleans took No. 8 by beating Sacramento[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule).
Boston entered as the heavy favorite. The Celtics had run away with the league's best record at 64-18, and the defending champion [Denver Nuggets](https://www.edgepedia.org/denver-nuggets) (57 wins) and the top-seeded [Oklahoma City Thunder](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city-thunder) were the other leading contenders[7](https://apnews.com/article/b7d75dc92ca84987ba15fe89814e416b). Boston's 2023-24 team finished with the third-best net rating in NBA history[9](https://vsin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-NBA-Playoffs-Betting-Primer.pdf).
## First round
Boston opened against the eighth-seeded [Miami Heat](https://www.edgepedia.org/miami-heat), a rematch of the previous two Eastern Conference finals, and won 4-1 despite a Game 2 home loss[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule). New York beat Philadelphia 4-2, Indiana eliminated [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee) 4-2, and [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) survived Orlando in seven games[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule).
In the West, Oklahoma City swept New Orleans, Denver beat the Lakers 4-1, Minnesota swept Phoenix, and Dallas, the fifth seed, beat the fourth-seeded LA Clippers 4-2 after dropping Game 1[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule).
## Conference semifinals and finals
**Boston's path stayed clean.** The Celtics beat Cleveland 4-1, then swept the sixth-seeded [Indiana Pacers](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiana-pacers) 4-0 in the Eastern Conference finals, winning Game 1 in overtime 133-128. Indiana played the last two games of that series without its star guard [Tyrese Haliburton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tyrese-haliburton), who was injured[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/06/18/nba-champions-once-again-the-boston-celtics-celebrate-number-18_6675041_9.html). Entering the Finals, Boston was on a seven-game win streak, tied for the longest playoff win streak in franchise history with the 1986 championship team[10](https://api-hub.nba.com/news/nba-starting-5-may-31-2024).
The West produced the tournament's two Game 7s. Minnesota, the third seed, eliminated the defending champion Nuggets 4-3, closing with a 98-90 win in Denver after a 115-70 rout in Game 6. Dallas, the fifth seed, beat top-seeded [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city) 4-2, taking the series with a 117-116 win in Game 6[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule). Dallas then beat Minnesota 4-1 in the Western Conference finals[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule).
## NBA Finals
[The Finals](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-finals) matched Boston against Dallas, and each team was the best opponent the other had faced in that postseason[11](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-24-key-stats-ahead-of-2024-nba-finals). Both finalists had better road records than home records in the playoffs, with Boston at 6-2 at home and 6-0 on the road and Dallas at 5-3 and 7-2; in the 22 years since the first round became best-of-seven, they were just the fifth and sixth teams to reach the Finals that way[11](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-24-key-stats-ahead-of-2024-nba-finals).
Boston won the first three games, 107-89, 105-98, and 106-99[1](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule). Dallas avoided the sweep with one of the biggest blowouts in title-round history, a 122-84 Game 4 win in which Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half and [Kyrie Irving](https://www.edgepedia.org/kyrie-irving) added 21; the 38-point margin trailed only Chicago's 96-54 win over Utah in 1998 and Boston's 131-92 win over the Lakers in 2008[6](https://apnews.com/article/06892b340967ef05fafb6d5c0ac6a9d1).
The Celtics closed the series at home in Game 5, 106-88, on June 17, 2024. [Jayson Tatum](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayson-tatum) had 31 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, and the date fell exactly 16 years after Boston's previous title, won against the Lakers on June 17, 2008[2](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-game-5-championship-2024-nba-finals) • [4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kW6N2Ax9XA). [Jaylen Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaylen-brown) was named Finals MVP[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/06/18/nba-champions-once-again-the-boston-celtics-celebrate-number-18_6675041_9.html).
**Depth decided the series.** Boston won the title even though Kristaps Porzingis, its starting center, missed much of the playoffs through injury; the roster was deep enough to absorb the loss[12](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2024/nba-finals). Dallas, by contrast, could not generate easy shots against Boston's defense, from lobs to corner three-pointers[12](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2024/nba-finals). For Dallas, the run was still a milestone: the franchise's first Finals appearance since 2011, with Kyrie Irving averaging 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals across 22 playoff games[5](https://www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-25-Dallas-Mavericks-Media-Guide-2.pdf).
The title also carried personal weight for Al Horford, who had played the most playoff games in NBA history without winning a championship before taking his first title in his 17th season[12](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2024/nba-finals).
## Viewership and reception
The Finals drew lopsided scores in several games, and ratings dropped as a result; heading into the series, playoff ratings had already been tracking below the 2023 playoffs[13](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2024/06/20/with-several-lopsided-scores-viewing-to-the-2024-nba-finals-dropped/). The following year's Finals Game 4 averaged 9.41 million viewers, down 2 percent from the 2024 Celtics-Mavericks Game 4, which indicates the 2024 Game 4 drew somewhat above that figure[14](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NBA-RATINGS-WRAP.pdf).
By cumulative record, the Celtics' 16-3 run ranks as the second-best winning percentage by a champion since the four-round best-of-seven format was adopted in 2003[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kW6N2Ax9XA). The championship restored Boston's standing as the NBA's most successful franchise, one title ahead of the Lakers, who had drawn level at 17 in 2020[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/06/18/nba-champions-once-again-the-boston-celtics-celebrate-number-18_6675041_9.html).
## References
1. [2024 NBA Playoffs: Schedule and results, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/2024-nba-playoffs-schedule)
2. [Celtics win 18th championship with Game 5 victory over Mavericks, NBA.com (AP)](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-game-5-championship-2024-nba-finals)
3. [NBA champions once again, the Boston Celtics celebrate number 18, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2024/06/18/nba-champions-once-again-the-boston-celtics-celebrate-number-18_6675041_9.html)
4. [#5 Mavericks at #1 Celtics, Full Game 5 Highlights, June 17, 2024, NBA on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kW6N2Ax9XA)
5. [2024-25 Dallas Mavericks Media Guide](https://www.mavs.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-25-Dallas-Mavericks-Media-Guide-2.pdf)
6. [Doncic scores 29, Mavericks roll past the Celtics 122-84 to avoid a sweep in the NBA Finals, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/06892b340967ef05fafb6d5c0ac6a9d1)
7. [The NBA playoffs are finally here, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b7d75dc92ca84987ba15fe89814e416b)
8. [2024-25 Award Winners, Oklahoma City Thunder Media Guide](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612760/2025/10/Thunder-Media-Guide-2025-26_WEB.pdf)
9. [2024 NBA Playoffs Betting Primer, VSIN](https://vsin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-NBA-Playoffs-Betting-Primer.pdf)
10. [Starting 5, May 31: Mavs advance, meet Celtics in NBA Finals, NBA.com](https://api-hub.nba.com/news/nba-starting-5-may-31-2024)
11. [Celtics-Mavericks: 24 key stats ahead of 2024 NBA Finals, NBA.com](https://cdn-uat.nba.com/news/celtics-mavericks-24-key-stats-ahead-of-2024-nba-finals)
12. [2024 NBA Finals, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/playoffs/2024/nba-finals)
13. [With Several Lopsided Games, Ratings For The 2024 NBA Finals Dropped, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2024/06/20/with-several-lopsided-scores-viewing-to-the-2024-nba-finals-dropped/)
14. [NBA Ratings Wrap, 2025 NBA Finals, Movistar Plus](https://www.movistarplus.es/comunicacion/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/NBA-RATINGS-WRAP.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › NBA and WNBA (North American professional basketball) › NBA and WNBA seasons, champions, and records › NBA seasons and team seasons › NBA playoffs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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